Best type of shackles for Spinnaker sheets and guys

laika

laika

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Trigger latch? Top opener? Swivel snap? Large? Small?

All the experience I've had with down wind sails has been on other people's boats with whatever was available. Now I'm buying some sheets and guys for the spinnaker that came with my own boat that I've never used.

What kind of shackles do people prefer for attaching their sheets and guys to spinnaker clews and why? In this case boat is 12.3m (not measured spinnaker area), no immediate need to do rapid racing gybes, will generally be short handed. Have marlin spike on knife but would prefer something I could undo by hand if required.
 
Wichard large bail trigger snap shackle - easily released under load and doesn't need a spike. I put them on the guys only as the sheet is clipped onto the guy in any case.
 
any shackle that needs a spike should be avoided. Get ones with a rope tail about 4 - 6 inches long (or make up your own) and which can be grabbed in a fist. Sticking a couple of fingers into a loop is asking for injury.

On chromed ones, the pin can get very 'sticky', so SS best. Shackles with a swivel in seem to be easier to release, but are more expensive. If you buy large ones, the loads required for releasing are less.
 
Woodlouse said:
You wouldn't want to use your finger with it under load but, yes all other times.

They also offer a range of options for triggering them remotely should you really want too...
Click to expand...

I agree: and I was being lazy in not making that clear. I don't see the problem with using a spike to trigger a spinnaker shackle when you are dropping 'Le Spi'. (Or the 'bag of fright' as my wife calls it...)
 
When dropping the spinny you're either going to spike it or not and I've generally only spiked it when racing on larger boats. In those cases best to use a spike to make sure your hand is clear and to make sure it's held in such a way that if the spike is ripped out of your hand you at worst lose the spike and not your fingers.

If you're not going to spike it you don't need anything fancy. As prv says, even bowlines will do.
 
Even better, get trigger shackles that don't need a spike. The Wichard ones have a string trigger that works very well. No risk of taking your finger off and no need for a sharp implement on the foredeck.
 
adwuk said:
Wichard large bail trigger snap shackle - easily released under load and doesn't need a spike. I put them on the guys only as the sheet is clipped onto the guy in any case.
Click to expand...

Sheet should be connected to the sail, with the guy attached to the sheet. This is so you can remove the lazy guy in very light winds to prevent its weight affecting the sail shape.

I've found these to be by far the easiest to use in anger.

0000028848.jpg
 
Flaming

have you ever had difficulty rigging that Wichard with the tail declining to go neatly above the bail arm ? The 2:1 ratio for the tail is a neat design, though.
 
Flaming - they are the ones that we use as well. When we drop the kite, we ease the pole forward - string trigger is easily within reach and has always worked first time with zero effort.
Good point on the sheet/guy arrangement. In light winds we normally rig sheets only - but it is an easy swap. I just need to check if the guys we have are long enough to be used as sheets.
 
Thanks all. I'll look at this (and the price list) for another few hours then see if I can't order something, install the spinnaker winch I bought at last year's southampton boat show and finally use the sail that's been kicking about in my forepeak unused for 6 years...
 
laika said:
Trigger latch? Top opener? Swivel snap? Large? Small?

All the experience I've had with down wind sails has been on other people's boats with whatever was available. Now I'm buying some sheets and guys for the spinnaker that came with my own boat that I've never used.

What kind of shackles do people prefer for attaching their sheets and guys to spinnaker clews and why? In this case boat is 12.3m (not measured spinnaker area), no immediate need to do rapid racing gybes, will generally be short handed. Have marlin spike on knife but would prefer something I could undo by hand if required.
Click to expand...

I learnt, from bitter experience on my 2nd boat, that shackles and sheets have no business together. That was 45 years ago.
I've found that, on the whole a couple of bowlines do the job OK.
I have sailed single-handed for the last 28 years and, confess, that when they come undone with flogging sheets it easier to unravel things instead of risking injury from a flying shackle.
 
flaming said:
Sheet should be connected to the sail, with the guy attached to the sheet. This is so you can remove the lazy guy in very light winds to prevent its weight affecting the sail shape.

I've found these to be by far the easiest to use in anger.

0000028848.jpg
Click to expand...

Wichard - used by me on spinnaker and genniker halyards, and on spinnaker sheets (not genniker because they can flog)
 
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